Pati Jinich is host of the popular Emmy and James Beard nominated PBS series Pati's Mexican Table, author of two cookbooks, and resident chef at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, DC. This is her official website where she shares recipes from her show and new recipes in her blog, plus upcoming events, recent news, and more.

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Cajeta: Make it at Home

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Cajeta: Make it at Home

For years, I’ve managed to turn every Mexican vacation into a working trip. As soon as I touch Mexican soil, I set up interviews, plan research tours, library searches, cooking adventures, all the while trying to tweet and instagram. And facebook, pinterest and blog too… My appetite expands outrageously as if giving me a chance to try all that my eyes can see and my mind can gather. Even with the best of intentions to relax and disconnect, they only last so long.

My family had been enthusiastic about it until recently: my husband announced last summer he’s had it. He won’t travel with me to Mexico when he wants us to vacation, together.

So when I suggested we go visit for the December holidays, he said “no, no, no Pati, you can’t control yourself there.” I kept pursuing Mexico because I missed it so bad, seeking out a place where I wouldn’t be tempted to work. San Miguel de Allende sounded like just the spot.
San Miguel is a beautiful colonial town in the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. It’s artsy, has a ton of history, gorgeous views of the mountains, quaint hotels and shops. There are a bunch of activities to do with the boys. But mostly, to my knowledge, it doesn’t have any regional food specialties to incite me to work. With this, I convinced him it was the perfect place to relax and, when it came to food, just enjoy it for once.

San Miguel is only a few hours by car from Mexico City, where we’d be picking up my mom who’d be joining us for a few days. It was in looking at the map to plan our drive that I noticed the city of Celeya is only a stone’s throw from San Miguel.

Oops!

Celeya is the birthplace of Cajeta: one of the most irresistible of Mexican sweets. I have wanted to go since I was like 5 years old.

Big OOPS!

I tried to contain my very desperate need to go to Celaya the first day we were in San Miguel. As I got out of bed on the second day, the escapade to Celaya was already on the works.

Cajeta is a caramel-like concoction, yet more milky and silky, and with a deep, rustic and almost nutty flavor. It’s Mexico’s version of Dulce de Leche, yet we pride ourselves in that Cajeta came to be long before Dulce de Leche and we tend to make ours with goat’s milk (or a combination of goat and cow’s milk) rather than only cow’s milk and ours has a much more intricate and richer taste.

Thankfully, the dynamic woman in charge of San Miguel tourism office has friends and family in Celaya. She knew who to ask and help organize exactly where to go: La Tradicional de Salgado.

The storefront has sweets made with or combined with Cajeta along with other traditional sweets. The side of the store, is reserved for Cajeta.

At La Tradicional, Cajeta continues to be made the way they started making it in 1860, which happens to be the most traditional way. They make a small quantity, which is sold immediately after, and sometimes even before, it is bottled.

They have Cajeta de Vainilla (vanilla flavored and the lightest in color), Cajeta Quemada (translates to burnt and it is the darkest in color and flavor), and Cajeta Envinada (translates to flavored with wine but rather than wine it is flavored with rum).

As the manager Andrés López explained, all Cajetas at La Tradicional begin the same, yet they don’t end the same.

They all start with 40 liters of fresh goat milk poured into a gigantic copper pot and mixed with brown sugar. It is then brought to a steady simmer at 120 degrees for most of the cooking time. If it will be vanilla flavored, then vanilla extract gets added. If it will be Envinada, then a generous splash of rum goes in. If it will be burnt, it is just like the vanilla one, yet it is cooked double the time (about 9 hours instead of 4 or 5), to achieve a much more concentrated flavor and thicker consistency: to the point where if it was left to simmer for a minute longer it would practically burn.

They always use those copper pots that get cleaned after each use and gigantic wooden spatulas. No metal spoons or utensils to stir the milk, as copper is a very reactive material and Cajeta a sensitive product.

Those wooden spatulas are used to stir the milk regularly as it cooks down. The heat is left at a steady temperature to have a consistent medium simmer, adjusting the temperature as the Cajeta reduces.

They know Cajeta is ready first, by judging for the design it leaves on the wooden tool: see the waves above? They have to show up after you stir and raise the spatula. Also, the mixture has to be thicker, like caramel! Lastly, as you stir the pot with the wooden spatula, there has to be a delayed trail behind the spatula, that allows you to see the bottom of the pot if only for an instant.

The Cajeta is left to gently cool. The glass jars are filled up, immediately closed and turned upside down. This creates a vacuum seal.

At La Tradicional, they switched the bottle design 30 years ago. It used to be plain and round. They wanted a change that made it look a bit more dressy. I say they look pretty dressed up!

We tasted all the Cajetas and so many sweets. We stirred the pots, with our heads covered in protective nets and talked to everyone in the store. We all came out with our very favorite one and Juju managed to eat an entire small jar of the vanilla kind, by the spoonful.

As we walked outside, we found a city brimming with food wonders. We ate some of the best Empanadas we have ever tried in a place that had, oh, about, 100 people waiting in line: there were about 30 different kinds! Half a block ahead we ate some outrageous Gorditas, thin and large, they were stuffed with either spicy queso fresco or Almidón (which I had never tried: the inner part of the Chicharrón). Our Celaya hosts brought Duraznos Prensados (Sweet pressed apricots) for us to try as well as Pastes (gummy-jelly soft squares) with such exotic flavors as guava and Rompope.

One of the biggest treats: see that red stand in that photo above? The woman in charge was selling Celaya made copper pots, one more beautiful than the other. After much chatting and measuring the different sizes, I bought my very own, which I carried all the way back to DC, to start making this Cajeta below, so that you can also, make your very own.

Here we go!

There’s my big copper pot, but you can use any wide bottomed and tall pot. Goat’s milk (you can choose to combine it with or use all cow’s milk, but goat’s milk gives it that delicious musky flavor…), dark brown sugar (or shredded piloncillo) and Mexican vanilla.

Also, add baking soda: it helps the final sweet to not have any lumps and it enhances the brown color. This coloring effect is called a Maillard reaction, as described by Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is “a nonenzymatic reaction between sugars and proteins that occurs upon heating and that produces browning of some foods.”

Bring it all to medium simmer, over a steady medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to stir occasionally.

After hours you can see how much the mixture has reduced and the more it reduces the more the simmer will increase even if you maintain it in the same level of heat, so you have to moderate and reduce the heat.

You know when to stop, when the Cajeta has thickened like caramel, its drops take their time to let go of the wooden spoon once it is raised, once you see a delayed trail in the bottom of the pot as you gently move the spoon across the pot and you can see the bottom if only for a second, and the Cejeta leaves wavy marks on the spoon.

Also, your house must be smelling like heaven by now.

Let it cool, and take note that it will thicken as it cools.

Pour it all in a large jar that will hold at least three cups.

I liked these photos, so I kept taking more and more… see the color of the sun hitting the pot and the Cajeta? The light couldn’t have been more generous that afternoon…

And there you go…

Cajeta is not only decadent, luxurious, with a perfectly balanced sweetness and a silky texture, it is also ideal for using with… everything! Crepes, chocoflan, to smear on pound cake, to dip fruit such as strawberries or bananas in. Wait! There’s more! You can make cute little cookie sandwiches (with Maria cookies, graham crackers or vanilla wafers, you can make smoothies and milk shakes, ice creams and glazes. The best way of all: just dip a big tablespoon and lick it off.

And now that I remember, our friends in Celaya told us about some cookies made with Cajeta called Dulce Anhelo (translates to sweet yearning). And since I didn’t get to try them, what a sweet yearning it has become. Celaya: wait for me, I will be back for more.

p.s Don’t want to make your cajeta? Buy it at the store! There is also another way to make Cajeta starting with a can of sweet condensed milk, I will post that one with photos soon…

Place a large pot (I use my new copper one!) over medium heat. Pour milk, vanilla, sugar and baking soda, give it a good stir and let it come to a simmer. Keep it at a steady medium simmer for about one hour and a half, stirring occasionally, every 15 to 20 minutes or so, with a wooden spatula or spoon. The mix will gradually thicken and darken.

After about an hour and a half, the liquid will have thickened and reduced and the simmer will become stronger. Reduce the heat to medium low, to keep it at that constant medium simmer. You want active bubbling, but not over the top angry bubbles. Stir a bit more frequently, as you don’t want the bottom to develop a thicker layer.

You know the Cajeta is ready when: It achieves a caramel brown color; it is thick as liquid caramel or syrup, much like a chocolate syrup consistency; it envelops the back of the spoon; when you gently stir across the pot with your wooden spoon, a slightly delayed trail behind the spoon appears, revealing the bottom of the pot if only for a few seconds; as you slowly lift up the wooden spoon or spatula, Cajeta takes it’s time to drop and lastly, the sides of the pot show how the Cajeta has cooked down and if you run your spoon across that side, you get a fudgy (and delicious) residue.

Turn off the heat and let cool (it will thicken considerably as it cools).

Place in a glass jar, cover tightly with a lid. It will keep in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Place a large pot (I use my new copper one!) over medium heat. Pour milk, vanilla, sugar and baking soda, give it a good stir and let it come to a simmer. Keep it at a steady medium simmer for about one hour and a half, stirring occasionally, every 15 to 20 minutes or so, with a wooden spatula or spoon. The mix will gradually thicken and darken.

After about an hour and a half, the liquid will have thickened and reduced and the simmer will become stronger. Reduce the heat to medium low, to keep it at that constant medium simmer. You want active bubbling, but not over the top angry bubbles. Stir a bit more frequently, as you don’t want the bottom to develop a thicker layer.

You know the Cajeta is ready when: It achieves a caramel brown color; it is thick as liquid caramel or syrup, much like a chocolate syrup consistency; it envelops the back of the spoon; when you gently stir across the pot with your wooden spoon, a slightly delayed trail behind the spoon appears, revealing the bottom of the pot if only for a few seconds; as you slowly lift up the wooden spoon or spatula, Cajeta takes it’s time to drop and lastly, the sides of the pot show how the Cajeta has cooked down and if you run your spoon across that side, you get a fudgy (and delicious) residue.

Turn off the heat and let cool (it will thicken considerably as it cools).

Place in a glass jar, cover tightly with a lid. It will keep in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

My question is this. I am Lactose Intolerant which causes stomach distress.
What can be substituted for cow’s milk? There are so many now such as Almond, Soy, Casu, Coconut Milks.
Would the outcome make the same delicious recipe?

I tried making this tonight and it’s very chunky. I’m thinking I over stirred and I pulled off the layers that were building on the bottom and sides of the pot. Is it still OK to eat? Would it just be a textural issue? It took me FOREVER to shred the piloncillo and I’d hate for all the effort to go to waste. What could you suggest for next time I try this?

Also, would it be a huge difference if I just use brown sugar instead of the piloncillo?

Hi Pati. Thanks for the reply! I did taste it and it was AMAZING! It’s all gone now. The chunkier texture was easy to get over with the flavor. I think it was definitely cooking for too long. I had the heat pretty low and it didn’t thicken for a couple of hours. I’m trying it again this weekend, as I want to give some away for Christmas. Thanks for posting this. I’ll definitely be a regular visit of your site.

Cajeta Seriously??…. Pati you’re killing me.. Cajeta is an other of my favourite Mexican treats that I hold dear to my heart.
Please tell me that your recipe is as good as the one in Celaya??
I would love to use it for Christmas presents!

Help I’m so very frustrated I’ve managed a handful of times to make it successfully without curdling but for some reason hich I cannot figure out it seems to curdle flavor is till good but texture isn’t as smooth as I would like I’ve tried heating over low heat and medium doesn’t seem to make a difference plastic or wooden spoon

Hola! I want to make this cajeta recipe so badly but have a dairy intolerance. I recently tried cajeta that had a subtle coconut flavor. Can I expand off of this and substitute coconut milk or even almond? Muchas gracias

Dear Patti, I love your show and the opportunity to learn about the food from Mexico. There is such a great secret to be discovered about the organic farming and wines from all the different regions. I enjoy listening to you while I am in my kitchen and driveway grilling. I was wondering if you might point me in the right direction for a piece of beautiful cookware? Your copper pot or kettle, where could I buy one like that? It would be perfect for soups and seafood for me. Thank you, The Rooter River Chef.

Hi, Patti!
Can canned evaporated goats’ milk be used?
Also, I’d like to make Milk Candy (Leche ??) like we used to get at the Monterey Mexican restaurants in Pasadena, Texas. It was soft & not sticky, like pralines. Lovely end to the meal!
Thanks for your great show on PBS!

I have seen a few of your presentations in the PBS station and I like it very much. I love the culture and food, but what I do not like is that I don’t hear the mexican music which is wonderful. I always hear music from Spain. I teach spanish and I always make sure the difference among the different countries. I say I would like more to hear the mexican music. With such a great variety of composers, musicians it will be nice to hear some of them.

I’m anxious to try your cajeta. I’m sure the flavor is better than the sous vide dulce de leche I made a couple years ago, although it was good. It called for processing canned sweetened condensed milk in canning jars at 185 deg. for 12 – 15 hours. Do you think your recipe would work if processed longer (allowing for more time with the thinner fresh milk to thicken)?

Hola Jorge, Thanks for your message! I used eat it out of the jar, too (still do)!! My recipe is an adaptation of what I learned at La Tradicional. I keep it in the refrigerator because it is not processed for canning.

Love your show! Would this recipe for cajeta work in an electric crock pot slow cooker? I’m unsure if the temperature would be high enough if cooked on the high setting. I wish you were on TV more often. Thank you!

I love watching your show. I recently made your Dulce De Leche Cheese Cake. It won a Blue ribbon at our county fair. When the cherries around here were ripe I used the same recipe without the caramel topping and made a cherry topping everyone wanted the recipe. Donated the Caramel Cake to an auction for a boy in our area that was badly burned. It sold for $8.00. I will be trying more of your recipes. I will continue to watch your shows when I can.

I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve actually commented on a recipe, but this is that good it deserves special mention….I have Argentinian friends who put dulce de leche on everything, but to be honest I can’t handle it, the flavour is overwhelming for me, and I adore caramel in general. Fast forward to this summer, I now own dairy goats, so I got the notion to make cajeta for our friends with extra milk on hand. Needless to say this blew my mind and if any of it leaves the house I’ll be shocked. What a perfect mild, sweet, caramel for everything. i ate it on apples for breakfast and I think a pumpkin/cajeta cheesecake recipe is brewing in my heat ATM…anyhow thank you for the recipe, you can definitely add a convert to your list of followers. As for the jar of store bought (gifted to us) dulce in the fridge, adios!!!

Dear pati,
The show with your girl friends that you made the ribs and the drinks out in your back yard was great. But you made a dressing with Chile’s that you used in the salad you made with I think was files onions oil vinegar not to sure , but you and your sister tasted it out side your house you kept it in the fridge. In a jar. Can you give me the recipe it looked so tasty you cut the child with scissors. Thank you in advance would appreciate a response. Thanks again. Have a great Mother’s day!!!!

Pati – I thoroughly enjoy your cooking show! Loved your Agave Chicken Wing and Cajeta recipes. San Miguel de Allende & Celaya are wonderful small Mexican cities that offer so much. Was able to spend 3 yrs there when my sister-in-law lived in San Miguel. If visitors “wander off” the traditional tourist places: Mexico City & Cancun, Mexico is an amazing place to immerse oneself in art, history, culture and great food. My mom also loves her copper pot from Celaya and her beautiful dishes for Comfort! Keep up the great work!!

Pati – I thought you would give us the easy way to make cajeta! Take a can of condensed milk, set it in a saucepan with water and boil for a couple of hours (in the can), turn the can over and boil it for another couple of hours. Open the can and enjoy!!!! No watching or stirring except to keep the water up and boiling.
Pour over apple crisp – or mix with a little brandy or Grand Manier and spread over plain, crisp cookies

Hi Patti!
I truly love to watch your show but I haven’t seen you make caramel on show yet but so happy saw the recipe homemade cajeta. Yay … but question …have to have copper pot to make caramel (cajeta)?…
Want you know that I have glass stove top as it s electric..
So have to use copper pot or not matter pot?

Wow. This brings back so many childhood memories. I did not realize that cajeta was so easy to make. It was our favorite treat to buy when my family went to Mexico. Oddly, as kids we called it, “cow candy.” Not sure where we got the name.

Can you explain the difference between cajeta, leche quemada, and jamoncillo. I think I’ve got that the differences are mostly the milk and sugar quantities and color, but there are so many variations on each that I am confused. And I don’t see how to add colors to the jamocillo if it’s brown like the leche quemada and the cajeta.

Hi Cynthia,
Cajeta is as you saw here, cooked down milk, be it goat or milk or a combination of both, with sugar and some added flavors like vanilla or rum optional. Leche quemada is more like a pudding that is finished off by being broiled, sometimes with sugar on top: think creme brûlée a la Mexican. Jamoncillo is the same thing as cajeta, but pecans or other nuts added many times, and cooked down until it thickens a bit more, then placed in a mold and left to solidify, then cut and wrapped in different kinds of paper.

I really enjoy your program Patti. I love cooking, have always loved it. Tonight your sister and you made a pound cake, and you put the chocolate in the top layer. I can’t find your recipe.
I am 82 years old, and cook every day.

I love cajeta! I was born in a town called Cortazar. Right next to celaya where you can find the best cajeta in the state of Guanajuato. I grew up eating cajeta! It’s soo yummy with a bollillo doradito.

Love the Cajeta recipe! A little tip for those who are concerned with over cooking or are unsure when its done. Whenever I make anything that thickens upon cooling and I want to check if its done. I keep a bowl of cool water with a smaller bowl floating inside on my counter next to my stove. This way in by dropping just a teaspoon full into the floating bowl I can see what the cooled consistency is in seconds without removing the entire batch from the heat. Hope this helps.

Pati- this post was a PERFECT find in my quest to order some of this super authentic cajeta from its place of origin. Wondering if you could recommend somewhere online (or a store such as one of these) where I could order it? I’m looking forward to making it, but I’d like to get the authentic stuff FIRST as a baseline and really want to order it. Any tips?

Hi Pati! I’m excited to make my first batch of cajeta. I am hoping to gift the cajeta in petit ball jars for the holidays but with traveling etc, I’m not sure I can keep them refrigerated. Can I can the cajeta in a hot water bath without changing the flavor? Also, I was thinking of flavoring with sea salt, vanilla and bourbon-do you have a suggestion of how much bourbon to add and when?
Thanks so much!

Hi Patti,
I’ve only had plain flan so the Impossible Chocolate Flan recipe on the show sounds heavenly! Thank you for sharing it on TV which I record. Do you allow the baked flan to cool slightly or to room temperature before inverting? Also, do you invert them just prior to serving? Can they be kept cold in the refrigerator before serving or will the cajeta simply become too hard?

Hola Lora, Thank you!! I hope you will try the chocoflan recipe! You want to keep them in their ramekins and wait to flip out until you are ready to serve them. After baking, carefully remove from the water bath and let the flans cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Then, still in the ramekins, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Pati,
Just wondering if you have ever made the cajeta with coconut milk, coconut creamer, cream of coconut, almond milk, or other non-dairy milk substitute for those with milk allergies, and if so, which one seems to work the best for flavor and for consistency? Please let me know which works best as I have never eaten cajeta before (if I made it the regular way, I would not really know if I made it correctly, to be the best of judges for the susbtituted way). Thanks for your time and reply. Melissa

Hi Pati, I really enjoy your show and thanks for sharing this recipe. I was curious if I wanted to make envinada, how much ron would I add and when?
also, not sure if you would know but my father has one of those copper pot. He uses it for carnintas, do you think if I use it for the cajeta will come out tasting porky?? lol.
Have you made it using piloncillo? I tried making Jamoncillo and used piloncillo and it curdled the milk. Do you have a recipe for jamoncillo? The recipe I have is very much like cajeta. I’d like to try making jamoncillo again as it didn’t set firm and was curious if you had made it before.
thanks

Hola Sergio, Thank you so much for watching the show! You can use your father’s copper pot to make cajeta; before using, clean it with mild soap and water and polish with a lime & salt like I do here: http://patijinich.com/2013/02/copper-pot-or-cazo-de-cobre-maintenance-and-use/. And, yes, you can use piloncillo to make the cajeta. To make Jamoncillo, just let it thicken more. For envinada, add 1/2 cup of rum when you put in the other flavorings too.

Hello Paty 🙂 I was looking forward to this receipt when you made the crepes. I can’t wait to try..Congratulations on your show I love it. I try a few receipt and my husband and I, love them all. Thank you so much for sharing all this delicious receipt and making me loving more Mexico. p.s. a place that I love to visit..

I enjoy watching your show. I started watching in the hopes of getting an authentic – Mexican recipe for simple tacos and ended up getting so much more! The recipes are perfect for more because they’re so easy to make. I just wish there were more places to get the real Mexican ingredients around here! Well, I did find one place that’s kinda far from me. But at least there’s that.
Thanks again for your show and I hope you’re on forever!

Hi Pati
I loved you on The Chew a few days ago. Didnt know you worked at PBS and know Diana Kennedy. I have a few of her cookbooks that a bought in San Miguel de Allende. We vacationed there 2 yrs ago and wanted to stay and live there. We met the guys that own the little kitchen shop that sells her cookbooks. We love San Miguel and all its culture. Thanks for your blog

Dear Mrs.JInich,
I don’t know where else to put this but today your book arrived! I had almost forgotten about it since I preordered a long time ago and now I’m soooo happy. It is a wonderful book with so many do-able recipes for which I can get most ingredients even here in Germany. One question though: what would be an acceptable substitute for Poblano chiles? Anyway, thanks for your wonderful introduction to real Mexican home cooking, I’m looking forward to shopping and trying out recipes! Susanne

Hola Susanne, Thank you so much for ordering a copy of my cookbook!! I’m so happy to hear you received it all the way in Germany! It would not be the same flavor, but fresh Anaheims would work as a substitute for poblanos. Prepare them in the same way the recipe calls for.

Hola, I am curious about pot using… if we are using that copper pot to make that Cajeta, after using that could we be able to use that copper pot for cooking meat and other foods? or does it have to be use only for making Cajeta?
Cause I know that on the clay pots are sepeated for using meat and rice and beans… let me know before I buy only one copper pot…..help help

Hola Nancy, Of course, you can cook other foods in your copper pot! However, since copper is a highly reactive metal, I recommend it only as a specialty pot for sweets, like cajeta, and making carnitas. If you want a copper pot that’s suitable for everyday cooking, look for one that is lined with tin or stainless steel. In fact, I wrote a whole blog post on this subject; you can read it here:http://patijinich.com/2013/02/copper-pot-or-cazo-de-cobre-maintenance-and-use/

Wow, this was amazing. It is so nice to see how traditional food items are made. When I saw San Miguel, my first thought was how did I miss that. We have been to Sn Miguel, Cozumel many times and realized this is not the same one. =)
I don’t think I would ever make cajeta, but I do buy it.
I love your posts

Hola Pam, I’m so happy you are interested in the cookbook! I’d love to send you a signed book plate to affix to your copy of the cookbook. Just email me at hola@patismexicantable.com with your address & any special message you would like me to write! I also have several signing events coming up: http://patijinich.com/schedule-events/

Dear Pati:
I bought an advance copy of your cookbook. I love your show, as does my husband. I try everything I see you make, and decided I will never buy store bought tortilla chips again, they are so easy to make. Thanks for this recipe for the Cajeta. Is there a recipe you know of for making flan with it?
Gracias!
Suzy

Hola pati…Im from Mexico too and love ur show but I have a question..my cajeta didn’t end up like urs it was really thick( like the texture of sour cream) and I was looking other recepies and they always add corn syrup to prevent cristalization is that truth and make a difference?

Hi Lily!
I know some other recipes use corn syrup…. but that really is not necessary in my view (there’s enough sugar in there for one thing!). It is just a matter of not letting it cook too long. Remember it will thicken as it cools, so stop the moment it looks like a fluid caramel sauce.

Hi there,
I’ve been experimenting with slow cooker cajeta for the last year and I think I have the solution to this problem. It’s just like any other candy making… if there are any granules of sugar that go undissolved, or are on the edge of your container, they recrystalize the rest of your caramel. I have taken to sitting my milk and sugar out for an hour or two together and stirring occasionally, then wiping carefully the edge of the cooker to make sure there are no bits of undissolved sugar.
I put my cajeta into swiss meringue buttercream frosting for chocolate cakes, or on popcorn, ice cream, pancakes & whipped cream, or in coffee, etc… it’s amazing stuff and my whole family loves it! I even use goat milk that is “goaty” and it fixes it so you can’t tell.
Best of luck!!

Hello Pati;
Just finished a batch of french toast rolls…OH,MY,GOODNESS!
If all your designs are so good my wife and I will be on the “fatboy diet” all too soon. Love what you do.
Thanks, R.C. & M.S.Smith

Hi Pati, thank you for the great recipes, love your TV show, my husband and I watch it several times a week. You do a great job!
I am from North East corner New Mexico. My mom made hamonsillo which looks like cajeta.
We lived on a cattle ranch, mom made hamonsillo with fresh milk or raw milk, sugar.. Best taste ever………. Loved the hamonsillo mom made we ate it on rice, homemade bread, spread it on home made tortillas or homemade ice cream or just spooned it out of the jar 🙂

I had never tasted Cajeta until recently. You mentioned it on your TV show so we bought some. It does taste somewhat like Hamonsillo but I noticed the taste of goats milk. The goats milk taste took me back a few years, we also had goats on the ranch and mom made goat cheese and also drank some of the milk.

I am thinking of making your Cajeta recipe with cow milk instead of goats milk like you suggest.
Do you have a recipe for hamonsillo?
Thank you muncho
Anne

Hola Pati!
I so love watching your cooking shows on PBS. I love the history and cultural aspects that you put into your TV shows.
I grew up in the southwest and showing off a few dishes spoiled my husband, he will no longer eat chips from a bag. I fry them crispy for him, and for parties I make “suns” I cut 1/2 inch triangles out on the rim one neatly resting against the other, then cut two holes for eyes and cut a smile out. They are worth the effort.
Ok my question,I made a pretty good Mole from Dona Maria (a friend from Oxaca taught me) but I am vegetarian now and miss my Mole. My happiest meals was a big plate of rich thick mole and tortillas. I am having Mole withdrawal symptoms. Thank You Pati for the shows, they are wonderful.

Hola Dana, You are so sweet to spoil your husband with your homemade tortilla chips. I am so happy you like the show and really appreciate you watching and supporting it!! You can make mole vegetarian by mixing it with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. It will be just as tasty!!